Method of making partitioned containers



Jan. 26, 1954 M, ANDREWS 2,666,953

METHOD OF MAKING PARTITIONED CONTAINERS Filed Feb. 17, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet l JUL/5T7 5'05. maze-1y ZYY-HmiEEME Jan. 26, 1954 M. M. ANDREWS METHOD OF MAKING PARTITIONED CONTAINERS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 17, 1950 271/527 705. magg- Z77 15 175 552425 ?5 Patented Jan. 26, 1954 METHOD OF MAKING PARTITIONED CONTAINERS Mary M. Andrews, Akron, Ohio, assignor, by mesne assignments, to The B. F. Goodrich Company, Akron, Ohio, a corporation of New York Application February 17, 1950, Serial No. 144,683

3 Claims.

This invention relates particularly to the method of making a container.

An object of this invention is to provide a simple and inexpensive method of making a flexible resilient carrying bag.

Other objects of this invention will be apparent from the description and drawings which follow.

Partitions in carrying bags of conventional construction are stitched together to form compartments. Even when water impervious materials are employed in making such a bag the needle holes necessarily present permit seepage of water from one compartment to another, and frequent repairs are necessary, since the stitches soon pull apart causing the compartments to lose their continuity. Furthermore, such a construction requires a considerable amount of labor in its manufacture because of the cutting and sewing required.

I have invented a partitioned container in which the compartments are impervious to liquid and are integral with the remainder of the container permitting wet articles to be placed in a compartment adjacent to a compartment containing dry articles without water diffusing from one compartment to another. Stitching is not required in forming the compartments of the container eliminating disadvantages encountered in stitched articles. A partitioned container formed in accordance with my invention comprises a unitary body member having at least one inturned wall portion forming one or more compartments, said body member being constructed of a water impervious material.

The embodiment shown in the appended drawings and described below is intended to serve as an illustration and not as a limitation of the invention.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a view in perspective of a partitioned carrying bag embodying this invention;

Fig. 2 is a section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a section on line 33 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4 is a side elevation partly broken away and in section of the body member of the carrying bag in an intermediate stage of manufacture.

As shown in Fig. 1 body member ll! of the carrying bag is formed of a single relatively thin wall member H of a rubber or rubber-like material. The partition l2 which may be divided into a plurality of compartments l3, I3 is invaginated within body member ID to a concave generally bulbous configuration as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, forming compartments into which articles may be placed.

Slit openings l4, M in partition member l2 permit ingress to the inner compartment l5. Slide fasteners I6, l6 provide means for sealing openings l4, l4.

Handles ll, ll are secured to body member ID to facilitate transporting the bag.

It is preferable to have a flexible resilient springy frame member i8 adhered or attached to body member l0 along the upper margins of the container to normally maintain the bag substantially closed. Frame member I8 may be constructed of any springy material such as spring steel, wood, rubber, etc., and may be affixed to body member in by any desired method, such as by a cementing process, intertwining the frame member IS with the body member ID, stapling, etc. The wall I l of the article may be formed of any rubbery or rubber-like material having the desired properties of waterproofness and resiliency, such as natural or synthetic rubber, plasticized vinyl resins or the like. When natural or synthetic rubber is used, it is preferably vulcanized.

The preferred method of making a flexible resilient partitioned carrying bag embodying this invention is to form wall member ll directly from an aqueous dispersion of a rubber-like material.

Wall member I i is preferably made by dipping a form l9, as shown in Fig. 4, having the desired configuration in a coagulant, such as aqueous acetic acid, a solution of calcium nitrate in acetone, etc., and then immersing the coagulant coated form 19 in an aqueous dispersion of a rubber-like material such as rubber latex for a sufiicient period of time (1-15 minutes or more) to build up a deposit of rubber solids of the desired thickness by diffusion of the coagulant into the latex. A body member wall thickness of approximately 3%" is satisfactory. If desired, the coated form is heated to dry the deposit and/or to vulcanize the rubbery material.

The form preferably has the configuration shown in Fig. 4 in which the portions of the Wall member which are ultimately to constitute oompartments I3, 13 extend outwardly from the body member in order to facilitate manufacture.

The deposit or body member I0 is stripped from form I9. Frame member i8 is secured to body member In and the opening in body member ID through which shank 30 of form 19 extended is sealed, for example with an adhesive cement, forming seam 2|. Openings l4, [4 which are relatively long as compared to their width are formed in body member ID by slitting wall member I l of body member l0, and sealing or fastening means l6, [6 are attached.

Handles l1, I! are secured to body member ID c; 84 and the desired decorative coloring is sprayed or brushed onto the article.

Since the rubber-like materials from which the partitioned container is formed are not readily deteriorated by water the article may be washed as often as desired, and to facilitate washing and drying the compartments of the container the portion of the container normally invaginated within the body member of the article may be turned outwardly.

Partitioned carrying bags embodying this in vention do not require stitching in the formation of the article. For this reason, said article has excellent durability. Carrying bags of conventional construction require that frequent repairs be made to the stitching which readily deteriorates and breaks especially when such stitching frequently becomes wet or damp. Such a carrying bag having a unitary integral Wall composed of a rubbery material will outwear a carrying bag constructed in the conventional way.

The compartments of a carrying bag constructed in accordance with my invention are water impervious which prevents water from diffusing from one compartment to another, thereby permitting wet and dry clothes to be carried in the same bag with assurance that the dry clothes will not become damp because of the wet articles being in close proximity. A bag of this type is particularly useful as a beach bag, in that, wet swimming apparel may be placed in one compart ment and dry articles in another compartment without danger of the dry articles becoming damp. It may also be used as a baby utility bag for carrying diapers, etc.

The container may be made in a variety oi colors by adding the appropriate dye or coloring material to the rubber-like material from which the body member is formed.

It is clear that obvious modifications and variations may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. The method of making a multiple-compartment handbag which comprises forming a hollow body member having a unitary flexible rubberlike wall, forming a closed-bottom inner compartment encompassed by a closed-bottom outer compartment in said body member by invaginating a portion of said wall of said body member to a position in which the inturned portion of said wall inherently remains invaginated, forming an opening in said wall to provide access into the interior of said hollow body member, and providing means at the upper margins of said handbag for maintaining the mouth of said inner compartment of said handbag normally substantially closed.

2. The method of making a multiple-compartment handbag which comprises forming a hollow body member having a unitary flexible rubber-like wall member by depositing a layer of rubber-like material on the surface of a form from an aqueous dispersion of said rubber-like material, removing said form from said deposit, sealing the opening through which said form was withdrawn, forming a closed-bottom inner compartment encompassed by a closed-bottom outer compartment in said body member by invaginating a portion of said wall member to a position in which the inturned portion of said wall member inherently remains invaginated, forming an opening in said wall member to provide access into the interior of said hollow body member, and providing means at the upper margins of said handbag for maintaining the mouth of said inner compartment of said handbag normally substantially closed.

3. The method of making a multiple-compartment handbag which comprises forming a hollow body member having a constricted midportion and a unitary flexible rubber-like wall member by depositing a layer of rubber-like material on the surface of a form from an aqueous dispersion of said rubber-like material, removing said form from said deposit, securing inside said body member along said wall member adjacent said mid-portion thereof a springy frame member adapted to maintain said handbag substantially closed, sealing the opening through which said form was withdrawn, forming a closed-bottom inner compartment encompassed by a closed-bottom outer compartment in said body member by invaginating a portion of said wall member to a position in which the inturned portion of said wall member inherently remains invaginated, forming an opening relatively wide as compared to its width in said wall member to provide access into the interior of said hollow body member, providing means for closing said opening into said body member, and securing to said body member means for facilitating the carrying of said handbag.

MARY M. ANDREWS.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 119,603 Gunning Oct. 3, 1871 651,819 Bradshaw June 19, 1900 806,090 Allenberg Dec. 5, 1905 1,166,862 Smoot Jan. 4, 1916 1,182,042 Rubin May 9, 1916 1,658,294 Lewis Feb. 7, 1928 1,997,115 Merg Apr. 9, 1935 2,024,539 Schmid Dec. 17, 1935 2,078,707 Braunschweig Apr. 27, 1937 2,206,438 Trexler July 2, 1940 2,253,571 Miller Aug. 26, 1941 2,272,289 Beal Feb. 10, 1942 2,298,101 Beal Oct. 6, 1942 2,313,792 Winder Mar. 16, 1943 2,394,332 Salem Feb. 5, 1946 2,478,771 Mufko Aug. 9, 1949 2,533,850 Syracuse Dec. 12, 1950 

